What Will Be Illegal When Sodomy is Legal

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January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018January 11, 2018, 06:31:04 am teppezuhodd says: That is the best technology we have nowOctober 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again! October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”﻿September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.htmlSeptember 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnessesSeptember 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.September 14, 2017, 04:31:26 am Christian40 says: i have thought that i'm reaping from past sins then my life has been impacted in ways from having non believers in my ancestry.September 11, 2017, 06:59:33 am Psalm 51:17 says: The law of reaping and sowing. It's amazing how God's mercy and longsuffering has hovered over America so long. (ie, the infrastructure is very bad here b/c for many years, they were grossly underspent on. 1st Tim 6:10, the god of materialism has its roots firmly in the West) And remember once upon a time ago when shacking up b/w straight couples drew shock awe?

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;View Shout History

Churches in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts have grave concerns about a new anti-discrimination law that could force congregations to accommodate the transgender community – under the threat of fines and jail time.

The law, which goes into effect in October, does not specifically mention churches or other houses of worship. However, the attorney general, along with the government commission assigned to enforce the law, have a different point of view. Attorney General Maura Healey wrote that places of public accommodation include: “auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls, houses of worship, and other places of public gathering.”

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the commission responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination law, reinforced that interpretation in a document titled, “Gender Identity Guidance.”

“Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public,” the document states. “All persons, regardless of gender identity, shall have the right to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation.”

The Massachusetts Family Institute has launched a petition drive to repeal the law – warning that pastors and parishioners could find themselves in serious legal trouble.

“The law bootstraps the idea of gender identity onto existing Civil Rights laws,” MFI president Andrew Beckwith tells me. “Even having a sign in your church that says “This Bathroom is for Biological Women Only” could subject the pastor of the church to up to 30 days in jail.”

Beckwith said under the law, the sign would be treated the same as if it had said, “Whites Only.” He said the MFI reached out to the attorney general’s office for clarification on the law and they were instructed to “get an attorney.” “Churches are left not knowing whether it applies to them or not,” he said.

So who is going to be deciding what is and what is not a secular event?

“It shows religious tone deafness on the part of whoever is writing these regulations,” Beckwith said. “Any pastor I talk to is going to say their services and ministries and programs are open to the general public. That’s the whole point – to spread the Gospel and minister to the whole community.”

That’s a fact.

I’ve seen revival break out over the potato salad — during a dinner-on-the-grounds at a Baptist church in Mississippi.

Beckwith said he hopes churches will join their campaign to repeal the law — warning that “it’s going to have very real consequences on religious liberty.” “If the church doesn’t defend itself from these attacks on religious liberty, they are going to cease having the ability to make the pastoral decisions they need to be able to make,” he said.

I reached out to the Mass. Commission Against Discrimination and they told me Commissioner Sunila Thomas George said there’s really no need for alarm. “By and large, places of worship are not held to the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination statutes that deal with places of public accommodation,” she said. “We are not by any means saying that the anti-discrimination laws absolutely apply to them.”

But, they could.

“There are circumstances where places of worship hold activities at their facilities or in their buildings that are purely secular events,” she said. Among the activities that the state considers secular are soup kitchens, day care, housing, and polling places. “In those circumstances, places of worship could be seen as open to the public,” Ms. George told me. “The operative word is ‘could.’”

So let’s use MCAD’s example of a church spaghetti supper. Under the state’s guidelines, that supper could fall under the anti-discrimination law.

I asked MCAD what the church would need to do to comply with the law.

“You would want to make sure that people are treated with regard to their gender identity and treated fairly and equitably,” Ms. George told me.

So what, specifically, does that mean?

“As long as people who are transitioning or who have transitioned are able to use a restroom they identity with, I think you are complying with the law,” she said. “You would want to make sure they are accommodated. In other words, churches that hold spaghetti suppers would have to let men who identify as women use the same bathrooms as the little Sunday school girls.

The Baptist Convention of New England is among the religious groups in the region opposing the law – warning that it’s an attack on the First Amendment. “Any attempt by a small vocal activist group to strip churches of that right should be vehemently opposed by all people,” executive director Terry Dorsett told Baptist Press. “If they can take a church’s right to practice their faith away, imagine what else they can do.”

For starters, they can tell good churchgoing folks what they can do with their spaghetti and meatballs.

Sweet Cakes by Melissa has finally officially succumbed to the backlash received since refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. It closed its storefront back in 2013, but owners Aaron and Melissa Klein had been trying to reopen. Their farewell message on Facebook reads, "We have closed Sweet Cakes. We appreciate everyone's continued prayer and support." The Facebook post has been currently shared 148 times, received over 600 comments, and been liked by more than 1,300 people.

The Kleins are currently appealing a legal ruling, ordered by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, to pay $135,000 in damages to the same-sex couple. The Kleins paid the amount in-full, plus interest, in December 2015, and at the time, the Kleins' lawyer Tyler Smith explained the reasoning behind the payment. He said the Kleins paid because they were being charged nine-percent interest on the court-ordered amount, which equated to around $35 a day, and since their appeal wouldn’t be heard until 2016, Smith said it made sense to pay the amount immediately.

Louisiana's Republican attorney general successfully blocked in court new measures protecting gay and transgender workers that the new Democratic governor has tried to put in place.

Jeff Landry has been caught in a confrontation with Gov. John Bel Edwards, who brought in the measures banning state agencies from discriminating against gay and transgender people, reported Reuters.

Landry, who has described himself as a "campaigner for conservative family values", started blocking several new contracts the state signed with companies that included those protections.

He accused the governor of overstepping his authority and largely steered clear of directly discussing gay rights. But his stance has won support from conservative lawmakers and groups across the state, including the Louisana Family Forum.

Edwards brought a lawsuit trying to prevent Landry from blocking the contracts. But Landry said a state judge in Louisiana's capital Baton Rouge dismissed that lawsuit on Monday.

"All along, I have stated my intention to put Louisiana's best interests forward as I serve as the state's chief legal officer," Landry said in a statement. He would "not cower to executive overreach," he added.

There was no immediate comment from the governor. But a member of his legal team told the judge they would appeal, The Advocate newspaper said.

London (CNN)Tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted of now-abolished sexual offenses in Britain will be posthumously pardoned, the government announced Thursday.

The government proposal will also make it easier for living Britons, convicted years ago of since-decriminalized sexual behavior, to clear their names.

The proposal has been dubbed the "Turing Law" -- named after World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, subject of the 2014 film "The Imitation Game."

Turing committed suicide in 1954 after he was subjected to chemical castration as punishment for homosexual activity. In 2013, nearly 60 years later, he received a posthumous royal pardon from Queen Elizabeth II.

Anyone previously convicted of the abolished laws can already apply through the UK's Home Office to have their names cleared and wiped from criminal record checks. But under the new law, the government will automatically pardon living men convicted of historical sexual offenses "who would be innocent of any crime today," Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said in a statement.

Momentous news: thousands of gay and bisexual men will be pardoned of now abolished sexual offences #TuringLaw https://t.co/PB6x7kfAnY — Ministry of Justice (@MoJGovUK) 20 October 2016

"Through pardons and the existing disregard process we will meet our manifesto commitment to put right these wrongs," Gyimah said.Private homosexual acts for men aged over 21 were decriminalized in England and Wales in 1967. However the law was not changed in Scotland until 1980 or in Northern Ireland until 1982.

Washington (CNN)The Log Cabin Republicans, one of the country's most influential LGBT Republican groups, announced Saturday that it would not back the party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

The group, while praising Trump as "perhaps the most pro-LGBT presidential nominee in the history of the Republican Party," said it had objections to views held by some of Trump's advisers and his support for a bill that would protect people who disagree with same-sex marriage from federal penalties.

"Log Cabin Republicans have long emphasized that we are not a single-issue organization, nor are our members single-issue voters," the group said in a press release. It added that it will instead focus on down-ballot races to preserve Republican majorities in Congress.

Trump has occasionally mentioned LGBT Americans as a presidential candidate, most notably in the aftermath of the attack on a gay Orlando nightclub in June and his acceptance speech at the Republican convention in July. In that speech, The Washington Blade noted, he became the first GOP nominee to positively mention LGBT rights in that setting.

"As Mr. Trump spoke positively about the LGBT community in the United States, he concurrently surrounded himself with senior advisers with a record of opposing LGBT equality, and committed himself to supporting legislation such as the so-called 'First Amendment Defense Act' that Log Cabin Republicans opposes," Log Cabin Republicans said.

A message left with Trump's campaign seeking response was not immediately returned.

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has been criticized for his support of a law that would have allowed businesses to turn away gay and lesbian customers in the name of religious freedom.

The group criticized the Republican Party in July for not backing a pro-LGBT platform.

"There's no way to sugar-coat this: I'm mad as hell -- and I know you are, too," Gregory Angelo, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, said in a fundraising email at the time. "Moments ago, the Republican Party passed the most anti-LGBT Platform in the party's 162-year history."

The platform expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, a lack of support for allowing transgender people to use the restrooms of their choice and support for conversion therapy, Angelo said.

The group, however, left open the possibility Saturday that it could eventually support Trump.

"Should Mr. Trump become our nation's next President, Log Cabin Republicans welcomes the opportunity to work with his administration to ensure the advances in LGBT freedom we have fought for and secured will continue," the press release said. "Until and unless that happens, our trust would be misplaced."

(CNN)Christian bakers who refused to make a cake that supported same-sex marriage lost their appeal of the ruling that found they discriminated against the man who ordered the cake.

A Northern Ireland appeal court Monday upheld the 2015 ruling against Ashers Baking Company, saying it "had directly discriminated against Gareth Lee on grounds of sexual orientation by refusing to make a cake supporting same-sex marriage."

Lee had requested a cake featuring Muppets characters Bert and Ernie and a message in favor of same-sex marriage.

The bakery refused to make the cake because the message conflicted with the owners' Christian beliefs, they said.

In court on Monday, judges rejected Ashers' appeal, adding that the bakery wouldn't be endorsing a message by agreeing to make the cake: "The fact that a baker provides a cake for a particular team or portrays witches on a Halloween cake does not indicate any support for either."

Plasticizers, known as a chemical called phthalates, are found in a variety of household products.

However, recent studies show that this dangerous chemical is found in pizza takeaway boxes and other fast food containers, meaning many people are ingesting it without being aware of its very serious side effects.

A recent study examined 9,000 people. It was found that those who ate fast food and take-out more often had higher levels of phthalates found in their urine than those who did not frequently eat fast food. It was theorized that PVC tubing, plastic gloves the food handlers use and the containers the food comes in were the likely culprits of this build up of the chemical.

It was also observed that those who had a higher amount of the chemical in their body consumed more meat and grains than those who did not.

Phthalates are found in many plastic household items, which help keep plastic flexible. But they were found to be likely carcinogenic and the U.S. Product Safety Commission banned them in children’s toys.

But if this chemical abounds, what is so dangerous about it?

When this plasticizer is found in wildlife refuges, it is often linked to the feminization of non-intersex male animals who then go on to develop female characteristics. Although no studies have been done on humans to determine if this is also the case, researchers say the results are relevant as humans have similar endocrine systems.

Additionally, exposure to the chemical while pregnant can lead to the masculinization of a baby, as well as disrupting the thyroid levels of the fetus in the crucial third trimester.

Researchers have also found that pregnant women exposed to the chemical have an over 72% chance of having a child who would later develop asthma between the ages of 5 and 11.

The chemical can also lead to migraines, depression and impaired memory in senior adults.

In order to protect yourself from phthalates, it is recommended that you cut back on your take-out and fast food. It is also recommended that you replace plastic products in your household with glass or fabric alternatives and that you avoid purchasing food with any plastic wrapping.

A Minnesota judge has ruled that a transgender man can have his gender reassignment surgery paid for by citizens' tax dollars.

According to LifeSiteNews.com, District Court Judge William Leary ruled that sex changes should be covered under Medicaid, meaning that taxpayers will incur the cost of these surgeries.

The case was brought before Judge Leary by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who sued the state on behalf of Evan Thomas, a 64-year-old biological woman who is living as a man, taking sex change drugs, receiving counseling to transition into a man, and says getting gender reassignment surgery is “a matter of life and death.”

Judge Leary’s ruling in the case is consistent with the Obama administration’s changes to the Affordable Care Act which forces states to include gender reassignment surgery in their Medicaid plans.

“Th(is) district court order brings the state into compliance with (Obama's) federal rule, and ensures the department may provide this service to Minnesotans,” read a statement from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Thomas said the surgery was necessary because “feeling you are in the wrong body can be devastating.” He admitted he had experienced depression and suicidal thoughts, adding that he has felt like he was in the wrong body since he was an adolescent.

It remains to be seen whether the incoming Trump administration will repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as they promised to do on the campaign trail. If ObamaCare is repealed and replaced this mandate could be changed.

An Ohio bill known as the “Pastor Protection Act” has cleared a state House committee, but it is not certain whether lawmakers have enough time to pass the legislation this year.

H.B. 286, presented by Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, protects pastors from punishment in instances when they decline to officiate a wedding that is unbiblical or disallow their church buildings from being used for such ceremonies.

“No ordained or licensed minister … or religious society … is required to solemnize a marriage that does not conform to the ordained or licensed minister’s or religious society’s sincerely held religious beliefs,” it reads in part. “No religious society is required to allow any building or property of the religious society to be used to host a marriage ceremony for a marriage that does not conform to the religious society’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The bill declares that those who decline because of their adherence to the tenets of their faith are “immune from civil or criminal liability and neither the state nor a political subdivision of the state shall penalize or withhold any benefit or privilege from the ordained or licensed minister or religious society, including any governmental contract, grant, or license.”

Vitale said in July when he first announced his intent to introduce the bill that pastors should not be forced to violate their conscience.

“This is not an issue of discrimination,” he remarked in a statement. “It is an issue of protection; protection for those who have committed their lives to the service of God and their community.”

However, some have opined that the measure is unnecessary as pastors are already protected under the First Amendment.

“This legislation would send a message to same-sex couples that they are somehow a threat, against which protection is necessary,” Ian Lynch of Old South United Church of Christ told lawmakers on Tuesday prior to the vote. “Why would the Ohio legislature choose to go out of its way to send that sort of message? If there is a concern for protection, perhaps it should be protecting the reputation of the state as a place where all are welcome.”

The House Community and Family Advancement Committee approved the bill 9-4, allowing it to move forward to the full House, but the measure has until Dec. 8 to clear both the House and Senate or it will have to be reintroduced next year.

It has taken years of court hearings, tens of thousands of miles of air travel, tens of thousands of pages of court documents, but it’s finally been revealed what the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) group wants a federal court to tell a Christian pastor, author and speaker.

Shut up!

“Actually, and incredibly, yes,” concludes the newest filing in the case SMUG brought against pastor Scott Lively years ago.

“SMUG unequivocally seeks a speech-chilling injunction against anything Lively might say which SMUG finds offensive, to hold over Lively like a club.”

SMUG filed a case under the U.S. Alien Torts Act alleging it has a right to use American courts to seek to stifle the traditional family and Christian messages of Lively.

He’s being defended by Liberty Counsel, which, by the sound of its latest filing, is getting tired of the arguments.

Its response to the plaintiff’s post-hearing memorandum on summary judgment contends there’s nothing to the dispute.

“In its post-hearing memorandum (dkt. 324-1) (‘SMUG Memo’), plaintiff Sexual Minorities Uganda (‘SMUG’) attempts yet again to do that which it plainly could not do at the summary judgment hearing, nor in its summary judgment opposition, nor in its ‘sur-reply’: (A) identify any specific actions of Defendant Scott Lively (‘Lively’) in the U.S. that had a direct causal link to any alleged injury suffered by SMUG in Uganda; and (B) identify any specific injunctive relief that this court could even consider that would not violate the First Amendment.

“Although it is seemingly grasping at straws, SMUG still offers nothing.”

SMUG brought the case four years ago and since then has attempted to “produce a shred of evidence to fit its sensational claim that Lively committed ‘crimes against humanity’ – akin to genocide and war crimes – by ‘conspiring’ to ‘persecute’ the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) population in Uganda,” Liberty Counsel said.

But SMUG did reveal its “secret and corrupt goal to intimidate Lively into silence, along with any American pastor with a heart for African families,” Liberty Counsel said.

The legal group points to SMUG’s request that the court enjoin, or prohibit, Lively “from selling or giving away his books in Uganda.”

And “to enjoin Lively from going to Uganda and preaching at Martin Ssempa’s church.”

And “to enjoin Lively from going to Uganda to speak to a group of high school students about what Lively perceives to be the many and serious health hazards of homosexual conduct.”

And “to enjoin Lively from going to Uganda to train lawyers on how to use the law to oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.”

VideoWhite Christmas Comes Early

And ‘to enjoin Lively from going to Uganda to lobby the Ugandan Parliament not to legalize same-sex marriage.”

In other words: shut him up.

“SMUG deems every pro-family advocate in Uganda to be a ‘co-conspirator’ in a ‘criminal enterprise’ to ‘persecute’ the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) population of Uganda,” Liberty Counsel reported.

“Even after 100 hours of depositions and 40,000 pages of documents, SMUG has no evidence whatsoever connecting Lively to any act of so-called ‘persecution,'” said Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel. “SMUG has always claimed it was not trying to hold Lively liable for his speaking and writing. Yet the more SMUG writes, the more obvious it becomes that SMUG wants to punish Lively for his beliefs.

“This is clearly a vendetta against Lively for speaking about homosexuality and God’s design for the family in Uganda,” said Staver.

In calling for a summary judgment on behalf of Lively, Liberty Counsel said one of the offenses cited by SMUG was that Lively emailed to friends a link to an article.

SMUG also cited Lively’s comments “that the dean of a Ugandan law school, Sylvia Tamale, should be fired or demoted because she ‘teaches a course on gender in the law school in which she reportedly expects students to adopt her pan-sexual ideologies.'”

But, Liberty Counsel noted, “Tamale herself has submitted a declaration to this court in which she describes her free and unrestricted advocacy on homosexual causes in Uganda, without any mention of any attempts to fire or demote her from her job.”

“Calling for the resignation or firing of public figures with whom one disagrees is protected First Amendment expression, part and parcel of public debate, and an advocacy tool frequently … employed by LGBT advocates,” it said.

“SMUG has been vague about the injunction it wants because SMUG knows it has no legal basis for it. No matter how offensive SMUG finds Lively, SMUG knows it cannot enjoin what it really wants to enjoin – Lively’s ideas,” LC wrote.

Just weeks ago, Lively was bludgeoned with some 1,000 pages of claims from SMUG, which is trying to find basis for its charge that Lively’s actions are “crimes against humanity.”

“The evidence shows that Lively, in a country where homosexuality has been illegal for decades, urged treatment of LGBTI people with respect and dignity, and the liberalization of Uganda’s laws against homosexuality, even as he spoke in favor of biblical sexual morality and against the LGBTI political agenda,” his lawyers argued at the time.

“SMUG has now made it clear that it wants to put Pastor Scott Lively’s Christian faith on trial,” said Liberty Counsel’s Harry Mihet, chief litigation counsel and vice president of legal affairs, at that time. “Every American should be concerned about this unprecedented attempt to subjugate U.S. citizens and our Constitution to the new ‘morality’ of the international left, and we should pray for a just and decisive ruling from the court preserving our most cherished constitutional freedoms of thought and expression.”

SMUG’s claims of “crimes against humanity” stem from Lively’s visits to Uganda in 2002 and 2009, when he declared his biblical views.

SMUG’s “gay” claims are based on the Alien Tort Statute, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the provision “cannot be used to sue U.S. citizens alleging violation of international or foreign law,” Liberty Counsel argued.

“Neither Ugandan nor U.S. law provide a cause of action for SMUG, so SMUG is trying to create new precedent to punish speech,” by Americans in America, the legal team explained then.

Said Staver at the time: “The implications of this suit are frightening because SMUG is trying to punish a U.S. citizen for constitutionally protected speech under some vague and undefined international law. From the beginning this case had no merit, but we have had to spend four years and countless hours defending an innocent pastor against a lawsuit designed only to intimidate. This case is a direct assault on the supremacy of the United States Constitution.”

U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor had rejected an earlier move to dismiss the allegations, made by the George Soros-funded Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, which the New York Times described as left-leaning.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators will repeal the contentious HB2 law that limited protections for LGBT people and led to an economic backlash, the state's incoming governor said Monday.

Gov.-elect Roy Cooper made the surprising announcement just weeks before he takes office and shortly after the Charlotte City Council voted to repeal its own local nondiscrimination ordinance enacted in early 2016. It was that ordinance that Republicans blamed for the statewide law.

"Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte's vote, a special session will be called for Tuesday to repeal HB2 in full. I hope they will keep their word to me and with the help of Democrats in the legislature, HB2 will be repealed in full," the Democrat said in a statement.

Outgoing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who narrowly lost the November election to Cooper, issued a statement saying he will call the special session but also accusing Democrats of using the issue for political gain.

Repealing the law would be a remarkable sign of cooperation for the incoming governor and the GOP-controlled legislature. Just last week, lawmakers called a special session and stripped Cooper of some of his authority when he takes office next month.

The Charlotte council's move is contingent on North Carolina legislators fully repealing HB2 by Dec. 31.

HB2 requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate in many public buildings. It also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

McCrory and lawmakers have defended the bathroom provisions as providing privacy and safety by keeping men out of women's restrooms. Opponents of the law call it discriminatory.

McCrory complained again about Charlotte's ordinance and accused Democrats of playing politics with the issue.

"This sudden reversal with little notice after the gubernatorial election sadly proves this entire issue originated by the political left was all about politics and winning the governor's race at the expense of Charlotte and our entire state," the statement said.

Since HB2 passed in March, North Carolina has suffered a backlash that has included companies declining to expand in the state and cancellations of rock concerts. The NCAA and ACC have also moved college sports events out of the state.

The law was also seen as a factor in McCrory's narrow loss to Cooper in the governor's race, even as fellow Republicans U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and President-elect Donald Trump won the state by comfortable margins. McCrory was the first sitting North Carolina governor elected to a four-year term to lose a re-election bid.

Republicans had long maintained that the statewide law was necessary to counteract the Charlotte ordinance that would have ensured transgender people's right to restrooms corresponding to their gender identities. The Charlotte measure was nullified by HB2. Republicans have said the ordinances' repeal was needed before they would consider getting rid of the statewide law.

In a statement after its vote, the Charlotte City Council said it remains committed to protecting all people's rights but that it was willing to take action with the state to "restore our collective reputation."

"The Charlotte City Council recognizes the ongoing negative economic impact resulting from the passage of the City's Non-Discrimination Ordinance and the State's House Bill 2," the statement said.

The state was sued by the federal Justice Department and transgender residents over HB2, while McCrory, Berger and Moore went to court to defend it. Much of that litigation has been delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court hears a separate case from Virginia on transgender restroom access.

“Many people are caught up with the toys of contemporary society. Because of great advancements in our culture, some have cultivated an attitude of “comfortability.” They may be going to hell, but it is going to be a comfortable ride for them.”― A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intends to introduce legislation by the end of year which will erase the convictions of those who were punished in Canada for sexual activity with a same-sex partner.

Trudeau made the announcement on Parliament Hill at a ceremony where the Pride, Transgender Pride and Canada 150 flags were raised.

“Our government believes in equality and equal treatment for all Canadians,” Trudeau said. “That is why we are moving forward on legislation that makes it possible to erase the convictions of Canadians who were unjustly convicted of a crime – simply for who they were, or who they loved.”

Evangelical Christians are under fire as an Alberta school board is demanding a Christian school stop teaching “offensive” scripture that indicts homosexuality as a sin, the National Post reports.

The offending passage is from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which states: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Battle River School Division (BRSD) first asked Cornerstone Christian Academy, not far from the Alberta capital of Edmonton, to remove the scripture from the school’s statement of faith. They also asked that the word “quality” be redacted from the mission statement that the school offers “quality educational programming.”

CCA agreed to the demands. Board chairwoman Laurie Skori then said that wouldn’t be enough. The school would have to cease from even teaching the scripture, saying that “any scripture that could be considered offensive to particular individuals should not be read or studied in school.” She said exactly what she meant in a subsequent piece of correspondence that read: “For example: any teachings that denigrate or vilify someone’s sexual orientation.”

That was too much for the school. CCA chairwoman Deanna Margel said the school had a right to teach what it wants.

“That’s a completely different directive, and it was shocking. Absolutely shocking,” said Margel.

“You can’t just pick and choose those scriptures,” she told the National Post. “We need every single word there to challenge us, to call us to greater understanding. We’re talking about freedom of religion, but we’re (also) talking about freedom of expression,” she said.

The school, which teaches students from kindergarten to grade 12, has asked the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom for legal assistance. The conservative activist group that defends “the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through litigation and education” has come to the school’s defense.

“Trustees enjoy the legal right to send their own kids to various schools that align with the parents’ beliefs and convictions. But these trustees have no right to impose their own ideology on schools they disagree with,” said the group’s president, John Carpay, in a statement.

Spokeswoman for the school board, Diane Hutchinson, said they are making the demands because “gender and sexual minorities” were added tot the province’s human rights code in 2015.

“In our province there is a heightened awareness and a heightened sensitivity” around LGBTQ issues, she said, downplaying concerns of censorship.

But Carpay says this is about freedom of religion and expression and that “Alberta has one of the most diverse education systems in Canada,” Carpay told the Post. “It’s really contrary to government policy for any school board to try to squelch that diversity.”

If the conflict between the school and the board is not resolved, CCA will have three choices: find a new board, become a private school or shut down.

The California Attorney General added Texas to the State’s travel ban over the passage of a new law allowing child welfare organizations to deny services and adoptions based upon religious beliefs. The California AG claims Texas, along with Alabama, Kentucky, and South Dakota, have recently passed laws “that are discriminatory toward sexual orientation and gender identification.”

“Each of those states in the recent weeks have enacted legislation that may deprive some of the individuals of those states and individuals who visit those states of their constitutional rights,” California AG Xavier Becerra told reporters during a news conference in San Francisco. The AG acted to expand a law passed by the California Assembly in 2016 banning state-funded travel to North Carolina, Mississippi, Kansas, Tennessee, and “other states that have laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Bacerra added Texas to the list because of a law signed recently by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that allows child welfare groups to deny services and adoptions to families because of “Sincerely held religious beliefs,” the Sacramento Bee reported. The AG’s office said he believes that allows these groups to discriminate against LGBT families.

“There are consequences to discrimination,” Becerra stated. “Restricting state-sponsored travel is a consequence.”

The consequences apparently do not apply to China, a country that continues is openly hostile to gay rights. Breitbart News reported that Governor Jerry Brown traveled to China earlier this month to “play president” in signing a climate deal with the communist nation.

The Sacramento newspaper reported the ban may be more bluster than impactful. “The state law contains exemptions for some trips, such as travel needed to enforce California law and to honor contracts made before 2017,” the newspaper reported. Bacerra’s office could not provide them with any numbers about how often state employees traveled to the affected states.

The bill, HB 3859, authored by Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls), passed the House and Senate and Governor Abbott signed it into law on June 15. Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz responded to the signing stating, “The signing into law of the Freedom to Serve Children Act (HB 3859) is a major victory for children and for religious liberty in Texas. Faith-based providers across Texas are now free to recruit foster families and place children with loving families.”

During the recently completed regular session of the Texas Legislature, State Representative Dustin Burrows filed an amendment to a bill aimed at pre-emptively responding to such an action from the left-coast state.

Washington (CNN)The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a religious liberty case concerning a Colorado cake artist who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple's wedding reception, claiming that to do so violated his religious liberty under the Constitution.

The Court will take up the case, Masterpiece v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in its next term, which starts in October.

The Swedish government has told the Church of Sweden that ministers cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples.

The Christian Institute reports that Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced that ministers of the Church of Sweden should be required to marry same-sex couples, regardless of their opinions on homosexuality and gay marriage.

“[N]o priest in the Swedish Church can refuse to marry same-sex couples,” stated Löfven. “If you work as a midwife you must be able to perform abortions, otherwise you have to do something else. It is the same for priests who do not want to perform same-sex marriages,” he added.

Currently, ministers in the Swedish state church are allowed to opt out of performing weddings, baptisms, and funerals for any reason, so this would be a major change in policy.

Although requiring ministers to marry same-sex couples is not yet mandatory, Sweden’s national broadcaster SVT reported that the prime minister is in support of making it so.

Sweden legalized gay marriage in 2009, but the church has been much more cautious of fully embracing it.

Acceptance of gay marriage in churches around Europe is growing. At the end of May, as ChristianHeadlines.com previously reported, the Church of Scotland voted to ordain ministers who were in same-sex marriages. The Scottish Church does, however, allow individual congregations to opt out of this revised stance on marriage if they choose.

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/ken-hams-ark-encounter-boat-issues-call-christians-reclaim-rainbow-lgbt/Ken Ham’s ‘Ark Encounter’ Exhibit Issues Call For Christians To ‘Reclaim The Rainbow’ From The LGBT"Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent and proudly wave rainbow-colored flags in defiance of God’s command and design for marriage. Because of this, many Christians shy away from using the rainbow colors. But the rainbow was a symbol of God’s promises before the LGBTQ movement—and will continue to be after that movement has ended. As Christians, we need to take the rainbow back and teach our young people its true meaning."7/22/17

The man behind the world-famous Ark Encounter has decided to reclaim “God’s rainbow” – announcing the massive ark exhibit will be permanently bathed in rainbow lights.

“And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:12-17 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The LGBT Rainbow is not the same thing as God’s rainbow. For one thing, the LGBT Rainbow only has 6 colors, while God’s rainbow has 7. The number 7 in the Bible is a number that represents God’s completeness. 7 days in the week, 7 whole notes in the musical scale, 7 Churches in Revelation, etc. The number 6, however, is the number of man in general and when tripled the number of Antichrist in particular. So since these two rainbows are so markedly different, there is nothing to take back. But it’s certainly a great object lesson between God’s wonderful creation and man’s miserable corrupt imitation.

“We now have new permanent rainbow lights at the Ark Encounter so all can see that it is God’s rainbow and He determines its meaning in Genesis 6,” Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham announced on Facebook.

“The rainbow is a reminder God will never again judge the wickedness of man with a global Flood—next time the world will be judged by fire,” he said.

The 500-foot-long ark is the centerpiece of the biblical theme park based in Williamstown, Kentucky. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have toured the replica of Noah’s Ark.

“The Ark is lit permanently at night with a rainbow to remind the world that God owns it and He decreed it’s a sign of His covenant with man after the Flood—Christians need to take back the rainbow as we do at the Ark Encounter,” Ham said.

Critics denounced the decision — accusing him of stealing the rainbow colors from the LGBT community.

“This is Ken Ham’s sad attempt to take back the rainbow symbol from the LGBTQ community,” read a headline in the Orlando Weekly.

“The rainbow itself wasn’t designed to be a symbol of freedom, love, pride or the LGBTQ movement. God created this beautiful, colorful phenomenon and designated it as a sign of His covenant with Noah and his descendants forever.”

“Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent and proudly wave rainbow-colored flags in defiance of God’s command and design for marriage. Because of this, many Christians shy away from using the rainbow colors. But the rainbow was a symbol of God’s promises before the LGBTQ movement—and will continue to be after that movement has ended. As Christians, we need to take the rainbow back and teach our young people its true meaning.” source

Christian Teacher Suspended for ‘Misgendering’ Transgender StudentExpect more of the same from here on out.

The he family of a young girl who “identifies” as a boy is upset that one of her teachers at school didn’t follow the expected transgender guidelines and use the preferred gender pronouns.

Joshua Sutcliffe teaches at an Oxfordshire secondary school in Britain and recently told the transgender student and a friend, “Well done, girls,” after noticing their good work on a project. The student “corrected” the teacher and Mr. Sutcliffe thought no more about it. However, six weeks later, he was called into the headmaster’s office and suspended over a “transgender complaint,” according to Breitbart London.

A “week-long investigation found him guilty of ‘misgendering’ the teenager, ‘demonstrating discriminatory behaviours’ and having ‘contravene[d] the school’s equality policy,’” the report indicates.

The school also said the teacher broke the rules and referred to the student by name instead of using male pronouns. Sutcliffe, 27, is being represented by the Christian Legal Centre which states the school doesn’t have “any formal instruction” in place on how to address LGBT students.

Breitbart reports:

The maths graduate admitted avoiding using male pronouns for the pupil, but he explained to staff carrying out the investigation that, while as a Christian he believes privately that it is wrong to call a someone born female a male, he also recognised “my responsibility as a teacher and Christian to treat each of my pupils with respect.

“I have balanced these factors by using the pupil’s chosen name, and although I did not intentionally refer to the pupil as a ‘girl’, I do not believe it is unreasonable to call someone a girl if they were born a girl.”

The school countered and said the code of conduct demands teachers be aware “of sexual and cultural diversity of students.”

“I have been shocked and saddened by the actions of the school, which, in my opinion, reflect an increasing trend of seeing Christians, people like me, being marginalized in the public square, and our beliefs punished and silenced,” Sutcliffe said, adding that he was “reduced to tears” over the ordeal. “I have a deep conviction that we are all made in God’s image, male and female.”

But this is the new way of progressive culture: conform or be cast out.

Parents of a 17-year-old girl lost custody of their daughter for opposing her wish for transgender medical treatments.

Judge Sylvia Sieve Hendon of Hamilton County, Ohio has allowed the girl to be taken into the custody of her grandparents – who support her medical transition – allowing them to make decisions that will further along her physical transition to the opposite sex.

According to CNN, Hendon ordered that the family’s names not be released.

The parents reportedly continued to call their daughter by her given name, rather than a male name, and refused to consent to hormone treatments that were recommended by her medical team. The girl claimed she became suicidal as a result of her parents’ refusal to accept that she wanted to transition to a male.

“We think the grandparents are the ones who have an open mind and will … make this sort of decision best for the child,” said attorney Paul Hunt, who represents the court-appointed guardian ad litem. “The parents have clearly indicated that they’re not open to it.”

According to the news story, the parents argued their daughter was not “even close to being able to make such a life-altering decision at this time.” A county prosecutor, however, claimed the parents were opposed to their daughter transitioning to become a male because of their Christian religious beliefs.

Thomas Mellott, the girl’s attorney, said the teen was forced to attend a Catholic school where she had to wear dresses and use her birth name.

“It caused additional trauma and anxiety,” Mellott said. “When you lack all hope, and when [s ]he thought this would all continue to happen to [her], the suicidal ideation became more pronounced, and that is how [s ]he ended up where [s ]he was.”

Karen Brinkman, attorney for the parents, however, argued:

If the maternal grandparents were to be given custody, it would simply be a way for the child to circumvent the necessity of parents’ consent. Parents believe custody of the child should be restored to them, so they can make the medical decisions they believe are in their child’s best interest until [the child] turns 18 years of age.

Hendon’s order allows the grandparents to petition to have their granddaughter’s name changed legally.

The ruling also requires the girl to be evaluated by a psychologist not associated with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the current treatment facility.

In her ruling, Hendon urged the Ohio state legislature to develop legislation to assist judges in evaluating a young person’s rights with regard to transgender treatments. Hendon wrote:

What is clear from the testimony presented in this case and the increasing worldwide interest in transgender care is that there is certainly a reasonable expectation that circumstances similar to the one at bar are likely to repeat themselves. That type of legislation would give a voice and a pathway to youth similarly situated as (the teen) without attributing fault to the parents and involving them in protracted litigation which can and does destroy a family unit.

Like the abortion industry – which has adopted the narrative that abortion is “women’s health care,” transgender activists are referring to prescribing hormone and surgical treatments for a gender-confused child as “transgender care.”

“This is a really critical time in a child’s life, and it can be frustrating for the process to take so long to help him,” said Corinne Green, policy coordinator for the Transgender Law Center, according to CNN. “There can be significant harm in delaying or withholding care of any kind.”

Nevertheless, Kaeley Triller, co-founder of Hands Across the Aisle Woman’s Coalition, tweeted, “This is insane,” in response to the court’s ruling on Twitter:

Triller’s organization consists of women from all points on the political spectrum who have joined together to challenge the narrative that gender is the equivalent of biological sex.

According to the news report, in 2016, the girl was “diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, and gender dysphoria.”

A recent study released by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) – in a state that is the first in the U.S. to adopt the LGBT rights agenda as part of a new history and social studies curriculum for children as young as the second grade – finds that gender “nonconforming” young people in California were more than twice as likely to have psychological problems than those comfortable with their biological sex.

While the pro-LGBT UCLA study’s authors point to lack of acceptance of a young person’s chosen gender identity and victimization by family and others as primary causes of the psychological problems experienced by “gender nonconforming” young people, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) states that gender dysphoria, formerly called Gender Identity Disorder, in and of itself is a mental disorder.

“Over 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosed mental disorder, and there is no evidence that gender-dysphoric children who commit suicide are any different,” wrote Dr. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), at the Daily Signal.

ACPeds is a national organization representing pediatricians and other healthcare professionals.

“Many gender dysphoric children simply need therapy to get to the root of their depression, which very well may be the same problem triggering the gender dysphoria,” Cretella continued, adding that, “even in Sweden, which is among the countries most accepting of LGBT individuals, adults who undergo sex change surgeries have a suicide rate nearly 20 times greater than that of the general population.”

“Clearly, sex reassignment is not the solution to gender dysphoria,” she wrote.

Nationwide, fewer than one in 2400 adults have changed their names from one sex to the other sex, according to a study of the 2010 census.

Christian Bridal Shop Closes Down Over Fear of LGBT Law After Facing Death Threats

A Christian bridal shop in Pennsylvania that has faced death threats will shut its doors permanently due to the strong likelihood that a local town council will pass a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

W.W. Bridal in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, which made headlines in 2014 and again in 2017 because of the Christian owners' refusal to sell wedding dresses to same-sex couples, has announced that it will close down officially on March 30.

Co-owner Lisa Boucher, who owns the store along with her mother and two sisters, told The Christian Post on Monday that there are multiple reasons for the family's decision to close the shop.

Chief among them is the high probability that the Bloomsburg Town Council will pass an ordinance banning stores and other places of public accommodation from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation no matter what their religious beliefs might be.

Boucher said that the potential ordinance is similar to an initiative that failed to clear the council in 2014.

"So what they (the LGBT community) did was got enough people to run for town council and they had a lot of the kids from [Bloomsburg University] vote those members in so a law could be passed," Boucher explained to CP. "We actually have a document from the Democratic Committee here pretty much saying that there is going to be a fight with W.W. Bridal."

Boucher assured that there will be no religious exemption provided in the ordinance.

"I guess what would happen is that a customer would come in and once we deny them, they would sue us," she stated. "You know how that goes with other [businesses]."

In other states, Christian business owners have faced crippling fines that have forced them out of business for refusing service to same-sex weddings. In Oregon, a Christian bakery couple was fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.

Rather than violate the convictions of their faith by selling wedding dresses to same-sex couples, Boucher and her family made the preemptive move to close down and place the future in God's hands.

In a Facebook post Monday morning, the shop cited Matthew 19:4 to justify its decision to stay true to traditional biblical principles.

"This is the reason we only participate in biblical marriage," the post explains. "We have the right given to us by God and the Constitution to live our lives according to our faith. We will not be forced by government, local ordinances or bullies to participate in something that goes against our faith."

Another reason for the closure is the fact that so many false reviews on websites like Yelp have made it hard for the shop to advertise and promote the business.

"What they say to do is they go into Google or Yelp and they post false reviews. We have been a 1-star since 2014 because they hide all of our positive reviews and they only lift up the negative reviews," Boucher said. "These people have not even come into our store. It is really hard to promote the business when there is false allegations out there."

"They will even say that they have been here and lie about the fact that they have been here when we have no record of them even being here," she added. "They don't just say, 'They're bigots!' They will do it in a way that makes it look like they have been here and we have denied them or were rude to them or whatever. It's kind of hard to promote a business when you are being attacked."

Because of the store's refusal to sell dresses for same-sex weddings, Boucher and her family have faced a variety of different threats through social media, email and telephone since 2014. People have not only threatened to burn down their place of business but have also threatened to shoot them in the head.

Last summer, the shop closed down temporarily to the public and was only accepting appointments because the harassment got so bad.

Boucher explained that her family does not have any plans for the next stage of their lives.

"We are closing and this is our livelihood," she said. "At this point, we don't have any plans of what to do in the future. We are kind of just resting on God's Word and hoping that He is going to pull us through it and open some sort of doors. I am sure He has blessings and will take us to wherever He wants us to serve, whether it be in our church or volunteer locally."

An online crowdfunding page has been launched to support the employees of W.W. Bridal during this time of uncertainty in their lives.

Religion can't be used to justify workplace discrimination, court rules

This week saw two major developments in federal anti-discrimination law as it relates to LGBTQ workers and religious freedom. On Wednesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a transgender employee, who was fired after coming out to her boss, was unlawfully discriminated against. That same day, Lambda Legal filed an appeal in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of a man whose employment offer was rescinded when his prospective employer learned of his sexual orientation.

While the 6th Circuit is not the first appeals court to find Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits workplace discrimination based on a person's gender identity or sexual orientation, it is the first to assert that there is no freedom-of-religion exemption to Title VII.

In a 3-0 decision, the court sided with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC] and transgender employee Aimee Stephens, who was fired from a Detroit funeral home after she informed her employer that she was transgender and beginning her transition. The court ruled that Title VII protects trans workers and that an employer’s religious beliefs cannot be used to justify discrimination.

“Discrimination against employees, either because of their failure to conform to sex stereotypes or their transgender and transitioning status, is illegal under Title VII,” Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote for the court. “The unrefuted facts show that the Funeral Home fired Stephens because she refused to abide by her employer’s stereotypical conception of her sex."

Moore added that requiring the business owner, Thomas Rost, "to comply with Title VII's proscriptions on discrimination does not substantially burden his religious practice."

The decision overturns a lower court ruling that held employing Stephens would subject Rost to “a substantial burden" on his ability to conduct business in accordance with his "sincerely held religious beliefs.”

ACLU attorney John Knight, who argued the case, called the decision “an exciting and important victory for transgender people and allied communities across the country.”

“In too many workplaces around the country, coming out as trans is a fireable offense, as our client Aimee Stephens personally experienced. But this ruling affirms that that is illegal, setting an important precedent confirming that transgender people are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act," Knight said in a statement. "It also ensures that employers will not be able to use their religious beliefs against trans employees, ruling that there is no ‘right to discriminate’ in the workplace."

Stephens said she was “thrilled with the court’s decision," noting she "pursued this case because no one should be fired from their job just for being who they are.”

The same day the 6th Circuit ruled in favor of Stephens and the EEOC, Lambda Legal filed an appeal in the 8th Circuit on behalf of health care salesman Mark Horton, whose offer of employment at Midwest Geriatric Management (MGM) in Missouri was rescinded when his prospective employer learned of Horton’s sexual orientation. Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a staff attorney at Lambda Legal, said the owners of MGM rescinded the offer because they believed Horton’s sexual orientation did not conform to their faith.

“Midwest Geriatric Management basically ended my career,” Horton said in a statement. “I left my previous job to accept a great offer at MGM, a position that I had been recruited for. When MGM rescinded the offer, suddenly I was jobless. I am still trying to put the pieces back together. Being able to be open and bring my whole self to my work has been an asset, and I have the track record to prove it.”

This is the fourth appeal Lambda Legal has brought before the courts on behalf of lesbian, gay and bisexual workers regarding Title VII, two of which resulted in wins for the gay and lesbian plaintiffs.Related

In February, the 2nd Circuit found in favor of the estate of Donald Zarda, a skydiving instructor who had been fired after disclosing his sexual orientation to a client (the Department of Justice, however, submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing for a limited interpretation of Title VII that would not encompass sexual orientation). Last year, the 7th Circuit, in a groundbreaking decision, found Title VII’s protections to extend to Kimberly Hively, who was also fired because of her sexual orientation.

“We have the wind at our backs,” Gonzalez-Pagan said. "We understand that courts are grappling with the theories we have put before them.” Gonzalez-Pagan said he expects a number of friend-of-the-court briefs to be filed next week in support of Horton.

With respect to potential opposition from the government, Gonzalez-Pagan said, “We’ll see what happens.”

"[The Department of Justice] has been rebuffed at every turn with how to apply anti-discrimination law," he said. "I think their political agenda has clouded their legal judgment and that is what has been demonstrated by these cases.”